Resolution
by Strawberry Shortcake123
Summary: Tony's New Year's resolution involves Ziva and the twenty-sixth item on his bucket list.  Tiva.  Oneshot.


It was eleven fifty P.M. on New Year's Eve, but Leroy Jethro Gibbs' team was not out celebrating. Instead, Gibbs, his three agents, Ducky, and Palmer were being held hostage in the squad room, forbidden to leave.

"We're going to ring in the New Year together!" Abby insisted, stepping in front of Tony as he tried to make another break for it. "It's 11:51! Only nine more minutes, and then you can go! Okay? Okay!"

"Humor her, DiNozzo," Gibbs ordered from his desk.

Tony groaned, falling back into his own chair. "This will be the first time in twenty years I spend New Year's Eve somewhere besides a bar."

"I have scotch downstairs," Ducky offered.

"I'll pass, Duck."

Ziva was sitting on her desk, watching the scene unfold with a smirk on her face. When he saw this, Tony made a face at her, and then they began an intense staring contest. It concluded when Abby ran behind Tony and screamed in his ear. "Seven minutes!" He jumped, Ziva laughed, and she had won. Again.

"Do any of you have any resolutions?" Ducky asked conversationally. "I would like to brush up on my Scottish history. Some of the finer details are beginning to escape me."

This was met with momentary silence, and then McGee cleared his throat. "I want to lose a few more pounds."

"Haven't you lost enough already, McSkinny?" Tony asked incredulously. "Seriously. You're like a walking stick."

"Maybe you should join me, Tony. It'd be good for you."

"Hey! Boss, do you hear him calling me fat?"

As they registered the glare on Gibbs' face, Palmer said, "Abby, can we please go yet? Breena will be worried…"

"Four minutes, Palmer!"

Abby's outburst stunned everybody into silence, and they watched her with a certain level of fear in their faces as she marched up to Palmer and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Meanwhile, behind her, Tony caught Ziva's eye and motioned toward the elevator. She nodded, and then, after making sure Abby's back was still to them, jumped out of their chairs and rushed toward the elevator.

"Hey!" Abby yelled, running after them, but it was too late. They were the only people still there; the elevator was waiting when Ziva pressed the button, and they ducked inside just as Abby was passing Ziva's desk. As the doors closed, they saw one of the scientist's pigtails swing into view, but the elevator was already moving.

As they reached the third floor, Tony reached out and flipped the emergency stop switch. "Two minutes."

"Why are you stopping us?" Ziva asked, crossing her arms.

"Because if we keep moving, Abby could press the button and make the elevator go back up to the floor." He turned to her, and the serious look in his eyes made her guard automatically go up. "And because I need to do something."

"What do you mean?"

Tony looked down at his watch. "Ninety seconds."

"Now you are holding me hostage," she said impatiently, reaching forward to start the elevator again. Before she could, he grabbed her wrist and held it. "Tony, what-"

"Can you, like, wait?" Tony's eyes were still trained on his watch. "Stop talking, you're going to make me back out."

"Back out of what?"

"Sixty-five seconds." Finally, he looked at Ziva. She looked back at him, eyebrows knitted together. "We've gone through a lot this year."

"Yes," she agreed hesitantly.

"I've made mistakes. Left things undone and unsaid. My new year's resolution is to fix that. Remember my bucket list?"

She nodded.

"Remember what was on it?"

"I only saw a few of the items, Tony, before you snatched it away from me."

Tony closed his eyes tight. "Did you see number twenty-six?" _Please say yes. Please say yes._

"No."

_Damn it._ Now he would have to vocalize it, and he wasn't sure he could. He wasn't sure he would be able to force the words out of his throat. This resolution could be thwarted before it even began. With a glance at his watch- twenty seconds- he took a deep breath. "Twenty-six says, 'tell her'."

No sign of understanding showed on Ziva's face. "Who is 'her'? And what do you need to tell her?"

_What to say?_ Tony could barely _imply_ what it was she needed to know; there was no way he could flat-out say it. No way. "Her is you."

"Me?"

Five seconds.

He looked into her face. "Yeah."

Four.

Ziva shook her head slowly. "What is it, Tony?"

Three.

"You can tell me," she pressed.

Two.

Tony inhaled and leaned forward. Ziva stood still, staring at his face as it came closer, and kept her eyes open even as his drifted shut.

One.

Their lips crashed onto each other, and all the tension that had been building between them for years was released with that one kiss. It wasn't exactly mad and passionate, but it was fierce; they clutched each other and stayed pressed together for a full minute or two.

_Consider her told._

**Sooo, New Year's oneshot for you guys! I'm not all that happy with it, but I spent a while writing it, so up it goes. Hopefully someone enjoys it! Happy New Year and please review! : )**


End file.
